Discussion

Shirking responsibilities for Mozza

After reading the numerous raves on this board, I just couldn't bear to wait until next week's dinner reservation. I faked a doctor's appointment so I could bunk off work early and check the place out this afternoon. At 3:30ish there were a few free spots at the bar, so my boyfriend and I snagged a couple of seats in front of the wood oven.

Nancy was hard at work finishing each pizza as it came out of the oven. It was a slow process, but she topped and trimmed each pie with such meticulous care and the end result was undoubtedly worth the wait.

I had my heart set on the bruschetta with chicken livers but my boyfriend is unfortunately not a fan of viscera. So we chose the arancini bolognese to start. Six little balls soon arrived, crispy and cheesy in a very light and tasty sauce. We ordered the lardo and oregano salami pies to share. Both were unbelievably good, but the lardo took the prize for me. I used Batali's cunning trick of calling it "white proscuitto" to sneak it past my man, as I knew that "cured pork fat" wasn't going to win him over. The trick works! The crust was liberally brushed with olive oil and sprinkled with rosemary, then baked. Once out of the oven it was topped with cold lardo, which soon began to melt into the hot crust. Absolutely divine.

We ended the meal with an espresso, Gianduja and almond biscotti. The gianduja was the best I've ever had, sinfully rich and chocolately with the crunch of candied hazelnuts.

All in all, it was fantastic meal, and well worth risking my job for. If I had one complaint it would be that there seemed to be three or four waiters standing around at any given moment, while ours was mysteriously absent for most of the meal. I would have loved a second glass of wine but never had the chance to order one. Since this is only their third day of operation I am sure that this minor kink will smooth out in time.

I can't wait until we go again next week! Total for an appetizer, one glass of wine, two pizzas, two desserts and an espresso came to $62 before tax and tip. Bargain!

Was there last night and had high expectations. The joint delivered! Started off with the same arancini bolognese, which were good, not great. Too small, not enough filling and too little sauce. Also had the affetati misti and the cured meats were great. Pizzas? My favorite last night and for the future is the salami piccante, mozza & hot chilis. Damn this was good. Crust is seriously unbelievable, too good. Crisp yet chewy. Why aren't all pizza crusts everywhere else like this? Perfect size as well if you're eating it alone. I had to share and couldn't get my hands on the slices quick enough. The other pizzas we had were great also but since they didn't have the tomato sauce on them, was little less pizza like. Can't wait to go back and could only pray that they should start delivery service. For a day like tomorrow, with big college football games on, having a salami piccante pie with a bottle of cab at home on the couch would be like going to heaven. Viva Pizzeria Mozza!

Forgot, also had dessert, two different ones with ice cream. Both good. Can't say they changed my life, but really wasn't there for dessert.

I went on the first day looking for the same kinks expected of any new restaurant, especially since I read that far-fetched burglar story in the LA Times, but thankfully, I found none.

Even without a reservation, the hostess was nice and took my name down for a seat at the bar. We waited about an hour, but it was expected so we passed the time sipping wine and joking around with the very affable bartender. The fried squash blossoms appetizer was perfectly fried, not too oily and with just the right crunch. We also split the fennel sausage pizza and the funghi misti pizza (the picky eater of our group was NOT fond of my lardo suggestion -- I guess I should have called it white prosciutto like hrhboo!) I won't go into too much detail as to raise your expectations any higher, but I will say that my friends and I were splitting tiny pieces of sausage just to make sure we could all have a last bite.